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Posts tagged as “Cheo Hodari Coker”

MUSIC MONDAY: “The Ultimate Billy Preston Playlist” (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “The Ultimate Billy Preston Playlist” (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 10, 2026

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Bluesky: @marlonweststl.bsky.social Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Music Monday, you all. Hope that first weekend of August treated you well.

After watching the amazing documentary, Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It, I was inspired to create this playlist.

Directed by Paris Barclay and co-written by Cheo Hodari Coker, the film chronicles the life, amazing six-decade career, and complex personal struggles of the legendary keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, Billy Preston.

The GRAMMY-winner started as a child prodigy backing his mother, his own gospel group, and the iconic Mahalia Jackson. I’ve included gospel tracks along with his hits, including chart-toppers like “Will It Go Round in Circles” and “Outa-Space”. 

Billy Preston was a virtuoso keyboardist and powerhouse sideman who bridged gospel, R&B, rock, and soul. So no collection would be complete without his his iconic collaborations with The Beatles (earning him the moniker “the fifth Beatle” from John Lennon himself), The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Little Richard, Sam Moore and Eric Clapton.

I’ve gathered more than 100 songs by him as a solo artist, in duet, as sideman, and collaborator, defying genre. From “With You I’m Born Again” with Syreeta Wright to the “Warlocks” backing Red Hot Chili Peppers, you’ll find a wide-ranging collection of tracks by the often under-recognized maestro. 

Until next time, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

‘Black Panther,’ 'Black Lightning,' ‘Luke Cage’ Highlight Rise of Black Superheroes

By goodblacknews on July 19, 2017

Image via variety.com

by Daniel Holloway via variety.com
Diversity is on the uptick in comics-inspired TV and film. When “Luke Cage” exec producer Cheo Hodari Coker declared at his show’s San Diego Comic-Con panel last year, “The world is ready for a bulletproof black man,” the crowd erupted in cheers. So did the internet. “Right before I said it, I knew what I was feeling,” Coker later told Variety. “I had said variations of it during the day. It was coming from an emotional place, but I didn’t think it was going to reverberate the way that it did. But I’m glad that it did.”
The “Luke Cage” panel came in July on the heels of widespread protests sparked by the killings of unarmed black men by white police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. When the show premiered in September, it became the first live-action series about a black superhero since 1994’s “MANTIS.” Now it’s getting some company. Next season the CW will premiere “Black Lightning,” based on the DC Comics superhero. And next year Marvel will debut “Black Panther,” the studio’s first feature with a black hero in the lead.
Social, political and business trends have converged to put black superheroes at the centers of burgeoning television and film franchises after years of being relegated to supporting status. Dan Evans, VP of creative affairs at DC Entertainment, cites the emergence of black superheroes on-screen as part of a larger trend in television and film. “There’s so many examples now, from ‘24’ to ‘The Fast and the Furious’ to ‘Creed,’” says Evans, whose office door features an oversize image of Cyborg, the black teen hero who will play a key role in the upcoming “Justice League” movie. “We’ve seen again and again that if you tell a good story with these characters, people will come.”
In superhero comics, the first appeals to underserved minority audiences came with the debuts of Black Panther (1966), Luke Cage (1972), Black Lightning (1977) and others. “These black superheroes emerge parallel to the changes in American race relations in the late 1960s with the emergence of the Black Power movement,” says Adilifu Nama, author of “Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes.” The movement’s push for equality and representation rippled through popular culture. “It wouldn’t be very sensible to think that these demands for diversity would only be in the realm of lunch counters and bus transportation.”
To read full article, go to: ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Luke Cage’ Highlight Rise of Black Superheroes | Variety

Cheo Hodari Coker to Write and Executive Produce "Luke Cage" Series for Netflix and Marvel

By goodblacknews on March 31, 2015
Luke Cage Netflix Cheo Hodari Coker
Netflix and Disney’s Marvel Television announced that Cheo Hodari Coker (“Ray Donovan,” “Southland”) will serve as executive producer and showrunner of “Luke Cage,” the street-hero series slated to premiere next year.
The companies previously announced that Mike Colter (“The Good Wife,” “American Horror Story: Coven”) will play Luke Cage in the series. Colter is slated to appear in Marvel’s “A.K.A. Jessica Jones” before headlining the “Luke Cage” series.
Coker is writing the first two episodes of the series, which is slated to premiere in 2016 in all territories Netflix is available.
Coker’s feature film credits include Fox Searchlight’s Notorious B.I.G. biopic “Notorious.” He also write the book “Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of The Notorious B.I.G.” Coker started his career in journalism as a staff writer at the L.A. Times and contributed to Vice, Rolling Stone, Essence and others.
Marvel’s “Luke Cage” is produced by Marvel Television in association with ABC Studios for Netflix.
article by Todd Spangler via Variety.com